Sirius Sickness
by FallingWindows
Summary: Sirius Black is seriously ill. The Marauders want vengeance, but most of all they want to find a cure. But how can you find a cure if you don't know the problem?
1. Midnight Madness

A blade shot through the darkness. A piercing cry rang through the room and bounced down the hall.

"Ahhh! What are you doing? No! No! Oh dear God help me! Please somebody help me!" A young man, with long black hair and gray eyes stood, chained to a dark wall in the back of the room. There was a small fire next to him and torches burned faintly on the walls.

A long thin man, completely robed in black, was coming toward him with a knife, a knife still red hot from the fire it was pulled from.

The man tore the boy's shirt off and drove the knife into his abdomen. The boy kept screaming and calling for help, but slowly his voice drained to little more than the movement of his lips and tongue.

"Ahhh! Help me! No! Please somebody help me!"

"Sirius? Padfoot, are you okay? Sirius? Wake up Padfoot!" Exclaimed James Potter as he ran over and grabbed his friend's hand.

"Sirius, what? James, why isn't he waking up?" Remus Lupin rushed over to Sirius' bedside and began to shake him violently. Sirius continued to trash and scream and beg for help and mercy.

Suddenly he froze, sat bolt upright, flung his eyes open and clutched his gut. His dark hair fell into his face as her struggled for breath. Suddenly, his mouth began to froth and blood spilled out of it.

"Sirius then fell back unto his bed peacefully. To the horror of his friends his white sheets turned red, dyed by the blood streaming from his mouth and a strange wound in his abdomen.

James and Remus woke their friend Peter Pettigrew and together they carried Sirius Black down to the Hospital Wing.

"What is the meaning of this? Why are you kids up so late-- oh," Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room, still tying her night robe around her and pulling her clip board off of a moon drenched windowsill. "What happened?" she said stopping in front of Sirius.

"I...I...We don't know." Stammered Remus finally.

"He won't wake up." James muttered.

Sirius screamed and began to trash around wildly as James and Remus lowered him into a bed. The Marauders explained what had happened to Madam Pomfrey as Sirius kicked, screamed, and begged for anybody to stop the pain.


	2. James's Time

Remus, James, and Peter trudged moodily back to Gryffindor Tower. They felt at a loss for anything to say or do.

"Potronus" muttered James and the portrait of the fat lady swung open. They walked into the common room and up to bed. Only Peter could sleep. James and Remus kept thinking of the Hospital Wing, of Sirius.

McGonagall had come in while they were all there.

"What's going on here Potter?" McGonagall swept into the infirmary. As the head of Sirius's house she had to inspect any serious injuries of her students. Since neither she nor Madam Pomfrey had any idea as to what Sirius was afflicted with they had called in the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Cantrell, and the Potions teacher, Professor Brown, to assist. None of the teachers could find an actual name for the 'problem' Sirius was facing.

The Marauders were told to go back to bed. They were told that Sirius would be ok. They said he should wake up soon.

"It was Snape!" James sat up in bed suddenly. He knew Remus wasn't asleep.

"I donno Prongs," Remus sighed, as awake as ever. Faint rays of morning light slid through the dormitory curtains and emphasized the worry in Remus's eyes. "We did go into the woods the other day, who knows? He may have stepped on something bad. It isn't always Severus who is out to get us."

"Yeah, but... Did you see the way he kept looking at us during dinner? He did this! I know he did."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The distressed Marauders got up and dressed as soon as breakfast was ready. Then they went to classes, but it was ever so hard to focus.

"Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall stopped in front of his desk. James snapped out of his dreams about Sirius and noticed Professor McGonagall had a worried look on her face. "Where is your mouse Potter?"

"Oh, I um... I vanished it."

"Mr. Potter, we are not vanishing our mice today; we are turning them into chocolate. And by the looks of it you need some." McGonagall looked at him sternly. "Alright," She sighed, "Turn this mouse," she placed another one on his desk, "Into a chocolate, and you will be free to go spend the rest of my class with Mr. Black in the hospital wing.

As James sped down the hallway he wondered just why he was so anxious. The Professors said he should be up soon, but still, James couldn't stop thinking about him. Neither could Remus.

James and Sirius were walking through a cemetery. Suddenly a hand shot up through the ground. It grabbed Sirius's leg and pulled him down.

"Sirius?" James looked lovingly down on his friend. Sirius began to sweat and quake. "Shh, Padfoot it's ok. Just remember, you are special to us."

Sirius and James were in a large stone chamber, they were on opposite sides, separated by an army of the undead. Sirius gripped his wand tightly. Suddenly a green/grey hand stretched out and grabbed it. Sirius heard a snap and looked down to see his wand laying broken on the floor. The mass of dead bodies surrounded him.

"Remus, Peter and I, we love you, and we won't let anything bad happen to you." James sat next to Sirius's bed stroking his friend's hair. Sirius's breathing became stilled and his breathing became shallow. "Sirius, I really care about you, and I am trying to make this better. This is useless!" James stood up suddenly. "You can't hear me!" He began to walk swiftly towards the exit.

James inched toward the stone door. The corpses advanced on Sirius, forming a tight-knit circle around him. Sirius stood tall in the center. One body stepped into the circle with Sirius, in its hands was a large tombstone. It struck Sirius upside his head. Sirius fell to the floor. Sirius looked around, blood was in his eyes but he wiped some of it away, through the legs of the bodies looming over him he saw James turn and flee.

"NO! Don't leave me! Please James, don't go! HELP ME!" The tombstone was flying towards him again. He just caught the words inscribed on it: Sirius Black.


	3. Help

A/N: Golly, sorry about that. I've fixed up this chapter (two years later!) and finished it off. Woop! To anybody that's bothering: sorry about my grammar in the last chapters, I was younger then and my Word was broken—but that doesn't account for that 'hot off the presses' thing. You wouldn't believe the mistakes I fixed in this cough (dare I say it?) chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 3—Help?**

James was at the hospital wing door when suddenly Sirius began to toss and turn wildly.

"NO! Don't leave me!" Sirius's eyes burst open and he sat bolt upright in his bed. James ran over to his side.

"Please James, don't go," he shouted. Although still not conscious, Sirius had a desperate and terrified look in his eyes. "Help me James," Sirius's eyes closed, as he fell backwards onto his bed. A trickle of blood, from a mysterious gash on his forehead, ran down the side of his face, and tears down his cheeks.

"Shh, Sirius I'm here," James cooed softly, stroking Sirius's long black hair and pulling it away form his wound.

"What's wrong? I heard screaming..." Madam Pomfrey hurried over. "Oh my! What happened?" Madam Pomfrey called a cloth over to her and mopped up the mess on Sirius's face. "Well, I've never seen this before!"

* * *

"The wolf will miss him," commented Remus remorsefully as James sat down across from him and Peter.

"It's tonight?" James inquired.

"Oh no! I haven't done my homework!" Peter squealed. He looked panicked for a moment, and then he asked, "You'll help me? James, Remus?" They told him that yes, they would help him, and, with a look of relief, Peter went back to eating.

James decided that if he told them his experience with Sirius just now it wouldn't do any good, so he stayed silent throughout the rest of the meal.

Remus, who had the moon to worry about that night, sat in silence too. Just like James, he was thinking about Sirius, only Remus was trying to find a cure.

"Merlin's beard!" Remus stood up rapidly. "Guys…" he packed up his stuff and started to head towards the exit. "I'll be in the library," he shouted over his shoulder as he ran off.

"What's up with Moony?" Peter asked as the last two Marauders sat down. James didn't respond and soon got up and followed Remus's path out the door.

* * *

"What've you got so far?" asked James as he through down his bag in the chair across from Remus. James knew Remus by now, he knew where he sat in the library, he knew how he researched, and he knew what was on his mind.

Remus pushed a sheet of paper to James. It was Remus's first and second research steps: list the problem and break it apart. He had the problem: _Sirius is sick_, and he had down the list of symptoms. Next to each symptom Remus was going to write things (illnesses, curses) associated with it.

"You're working fast," commented James as he noticed that Remus was already one third of the way down his list.

"This is important," he replied shortly and grabbed his paper back to write something else on it. James wasn't taken aback however, he understood.

James took another glance at the list then went to get some more books.

* * *

Four hours, in between two classes, later found them still at their table. Having sufficiently plugged away at their list, they were now trying to put the pieces together.

"Cross that off," James commented as he pointed to one possible cause. "He hasn't eaten any bad cabbage; we'd know." Remus crossed 'bad cabbage' of their list of causes everywhere is was.

They then proceeded to cross off _over studying, dust bunnies, laziness, led-based paint, oil paint, _and, after James made a quick run to the kitchen, _house-elf spit. _But their list was still long. They researched every causes a bit further until they were able to get their list down to four possible causes, three of which were advanced potions.


	4. Cure?

**Chapter 4- Cure?**

"See?" James pointed to the possible causes triumphantly, as if he just proved a point he'd been making. "See? I told you Snivellus was responsible!"

"Oh," said Remus, James's logic suddenly making sense. "Because Snape can brew advanced potions it has to have been him." Remus was mocking him. James huffed indignantly.

"Fine," he sighed. "Let's just get back to work." He pulled another book over to him and began to research one of the potions on the list. It was just so hard having Sirius sick; nobody was there to be biased with him.

Remus also pulled over another book and continued researching. Luckily it was Saturday so, after James called off Quidditch practice, they had the chance to study, uninterrupted, all day.

Halfway through lunch time James made a quick trip to the kitchens because Remus looked as if he was about to faint—the poor boy had come directly from the Shrieking Shack to the library that morning.

They made progress. It was hard because they had to seriously consider everything possible situation and cause and cure, and even though there were only four possible causes, one mistake in treatment could cost Sirius his life.

Remus sighed in relief. "_Doloroso muerte incubo_," he whispered.

"What?" James looked up.

"That's the spell!" Remus hissed excitedly.

"So it's not a potion?" Remus shook his head. "How do you know? Are you sure?" Remus nodded. "What are we waiting for then? Moony! Let's go!" They packed up all their books really quickly and ran from the library.

"Poppy? Poppy?" James called as he burst into the infirmary, practically skipping with anticipation.

"Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey, who had been standing at the medicine cabinet, sighed resignedly as she turned to James. "What is it now?"

"Here!" Remus shoved their research under her nose. After the shock of a face full of parchment, Madam Pomfrey took a good look at what it said.

"Oh my," she whispered and then went straight to work.

--

Sirius was fixed and back to normal within five days; although he had to stay in the infirmary for another week because, as Madam Pomfrey told him, "of the severity of your condition."

On his first morning back he was met with choruses of welcome backs, as well as slaps from girls he had "been avoiding" for weeks.

"Hospital wing? Near death? Yeah right Black. I'll put you in the hospital wing!" Sybil Vane attempted to slap him but Sirius ducked right in time and skipped off with his friends.

"So, guys, any news on who did that to me yet?" he asked as Sybil yelled down the hall after him.

"Don't you run away from me Black! You're gonna get yours!"

"Nope, no word yet…but I'm betting it was Snivellus!" James whispered conspiratorially.

"James…" Remus sounded hesitant.

"Come off it Moony." Sirius then turned back to James. "What are we going to do to get him back?"

"You guys?" Peter sounded hesitant, as always. "What if it wasn't him? Are you sure we want to pick on him some more?"

"What are you saying Wormtail? Was it you?" the marauders all laughed, but Peter looked frightened.

"N-no! Of-of course not!" he stammered. He looked flustered and wiped some sweat off his brow. They had reached the portrait hole by this time. James slapped him on the back.

"Calm down, Wormtail." He laughed. "Nobody thinks you'd actually do something like that. Now," he said as they sat down in a far corner of the common room. "What do we do about Snape?" And they all leaned in to whisper and plot.

**--THE END--**

A/N: Thank the Lord I've got this off my conscience now. 


End file.
